"You stay here to observe the surrounding situation, I'll go in and prepare dinner," Takashi patted Lian's shoulder and said aloud.
"Okay," Lian replied.
After Takashi entered the cave, Lian took out the binoculars from his backpack and began scanning the surroundings.
Constantly observing the environment is crucial for survival in the wild.
This location had a high vantage point with a clear view, allowing Lian to see for several kilometers through the binoculars. He observed the lush forest and noticed some Pokémon drinking water by the river.
"Eh... what's this?"
Suddenly, an open space appeared within his view. A tent was set up, and a familiar figure was busy beside it.
"Aron..." Lian was so impressed with this figure that he couldn't even forget it.
"Is he camping there..."
"What are you looking at?" Takashi's voice suddenly rang out in his ears.
Lian lowered the binoculars, pointed to the area where Aron was camping, and said, "It's Aron, he's camping there."
Takashi took the binoculars and observed the area. After a moment, he nodded and commented, "It's a good place to camp."
"Alright, it's getting late. Let's have dinner first, then I'll show you what the night in the wild is like," Takashi said, continuing with his preparations.
"Hey, wait a minute."
Just as Takashi was about to put down the binoculars, he noticed a tall man in a dark red uniform appearing in his line of sight.
Because of the distance, Takashi couldn't clearly make out the man's features, but he could see the distinctive dark red uniform and the ugly Toxicroak standing beside him.
"This is..." Takashi frowned, his gaze narrowing as he scrutinized the man. The uniform seemed familiar, like something he had seen before.
Immediately afterwards, under Takashi 's observation, the man was moving in a certain direction with a firm goal.
Takashi frowned slightly, secretly guessing the man's direction, the next second his pupils shrank suddenly, and he said in astonishment: "Aron!"
He quickly put down the binoculars, gestured into the distance with his hands, and muttered, "It's really in this direction."
"Cousin, what are you looking at?" Lian asked curiously.
"I'm looking…" Takashi began, but then his mind suddenly cleared. His face froze as he recalled where he had seen this dark red uniform before.
It was on the wanted poster!
That's right, the uniform was associated with members of a poaching group, used to identify them.
Takashi recalled a little about this poaching group. It was quite large, operating in several regions, and had been a persistent headache for the authorities.
"I didn't expect… a member of this poaching group to actually show up here," Takashi murmured. "What is he doing here? And why is he heading straight for Aron?"
He quickly shared his thoughts with Lian and continued to observe through the binoculars.
---
Meanwhile, on the other side:
"Okay, time to eat," Aron placed the food on the small table he carried and called out to the two little Pokémon playing in the tent.
"Eeeeeeemol!"
Emolga dashed out first, running to the energy cubes with lightning speed, and grabbed one without hesitation, devouring it quickly.
"Greedy little thing," Aron chuckled, then picked up Ralts and walked over to join Emolga.
"Ralts~" Ralts expressed gratitude before being placed gently on the ground.
"What a polite little fellow," Aron smiled, muttering to himself. "I wonder if it's a boy or a girl.If it's a boy...bah such a cute little fellow,must be a girl!"
"Alright, let's eat quickly." Aron smiled again, reaching out to pat Ralts' blue hair gently.
"Ralts~"
A slight blush appeared on Ralts' cheeks as she slowly began eating the energy cube.
Aron smiled at the sight, ready to start his meal when suddenly—
"Combusken!"
Combusken abruptly stopped eating, turned his head, and stared into the distance with alert eyes.
Noticing Combusken's reaction, Aron followed his gaze and saw a middle-aged man in a dark red uniform walking slowly toward them. The man was tall and muscular, wearing a pair of high-tech sunglasses. Beside him stood a strange-looking Pokémon—a dark blue Toxicroak.
---
[Pokémon: Toxicroak (Poison/Fighting)
Ability: Anticipation
Qualification: Gym
Level: 34 (Advanced)]
---
"That Toxicroak… its evolution is normally at level 37, but this one evolved at level 34. Something must have triggered it," Aron thought, analyzing the situation.
"Ralts!" Ralts suddenly let out a sharp cry and immediately hid behind Aron, tugging at the corner of his clothes.
Aron narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the man who clearly wasn't coming with friendly intentions .
When the man saw Ralts, he grinned in an unsettling way, then pressed a small button on his sunglasses before whispering, "Looks like I'm in luck this time."
His gaze scanned the area briefly, skipping over Emolga, then landing on Combusken, who stood warily. With a smile, he commented, "Yes,this Combusken seems quite energetic. It should fetch a good price."
"Toxicroak, deal with them."
From the very beginning, the man had not acknowledged Aron at all, his focus solely on the Pokémon.
"A Pokémon hunter?" Aron's eyes froze, a deep voice escaping him. "So it's a hunter…"
This man was likely the one who had caused Ralts' earlier injuries.
"No, it's not necessarily just a hunter. They usually work in teams… maybe there are others around." Aron reasoned silently.
But no matter what, one thing was clear: Toxicroak was now charging toward him!
This Toxicroak was Advanced level, and although Combusken was strong, there was no way it could match up across such a significant level gap.
The Poké Ball on Aron's waist began shaking violently.
Aron pressed the button, his voice firm: "Don't worry, I've got this."
He squinted at the approaching Toxicroak, a bold thought forming in his mind.
"If I defeat this Toxicroak, Combusken will gain a lot of experience. Plus, with Psychic powers… Toxicroak is four times weak against psychic type!"